Identity has become the fault line of modern cybersecurity. Every breach, compliance penalty, or breakdown in digital trust can be traced back to a single question: who has access, and should they? As organisations accelerate digital transformation and adopt AI at scale, the challenge of securing identities, whether they belong to employees, customers, or machines, has never been more urgent.
The NKST IAM Summit, taking place on January 28 in Toronto, brings the issue to the forefront for the C-suite and security leaders who carry the responsibility of balancing protection, compliance, and business agility. The event is built around the real problems executives face daily: sprawling access privileges, non-human “digital ghosts,” and regulatory demands that evolve faster than technology can catch up.
Through visionary keynotes, practical case studies, and peer-to-peer exchanges, the Summit doesn’t just dissect these challenges, it points to actionable solutions. From autonomous identity systems to decentralised trust frameworks, leaders will explore how identity is no longer a back-office IT function, but the core enabler of digital business resilience.
Tackling fragmented governance models that create compliance risks and slow down transformation.
Balancing seamless user experience with airtight security in a world where every login is a potential breach.
Building trust with customers by ensuring their identities are legitimate, protected, and friction-free.
Strengthening resilience with multi-layered approaches to least privilege and insider threat reduction.
Managing digital “ghosts” and securing machine, API, and bot identities in AI-driven ecosystems.
January 28, 2026 • Novotel Toronto Centre
Sponsor: Arancia x Semperis
Facilitators:
Josh Wagman, Global Director Cyber Resilience Advisors, Semperis
Josh Leclerc, Cybersecurity Solutions Architect, ARANCIA
Master of Ceremonies: Evgeniy Kharam, Chief Strategy Officer, Discern Security
Sponsor: TechJutsu
Tracey Nyholt, Founder & CEO, TechJutsu
Moderator: Gennady Duchovich, Principal Cybersecurity Advisor, 1SEC Solutions Inc
Panelists:
Suhail Chaharain, Group Leader- AD & IAM, Kraft Heinz
Josh Leclerc, Cybersecurity Solutions Architect, Arancia
Leon Lukiyanets, Field CTO, PAM, SDG Corporation
Moderator: Shruti Mukherjee, Director of GRC, GlobalVision
Panelists:
Harsh Sahni, AI Security & Governance Leader
Saranya Arulnathan, Chief Information Security Officer | Cyber Risk & Digital Trust Leader
Manas Khanna, Senior Director of Engineering
Sponsor: Sailpoint
Dana Reed, Distinguished Engineer, Office of the CTO, SailPoint
Presented by: Canadian Cybersecurity Network
Francois Guay, Founder and CEO, Canadian Cybersecurity Network
In Partnership with: Women in Identity
Moderator: Rola Turk, Senior Director, IAM Identity Lifecycle Management & Intelligence. Canadian Ambassador for Women in Identity, Royal Bank of Canada
Panelists:
Serena Tejani, Cybersecurity Partner I National Alliances Partner for Risk Services, KPMG Canada
Sandi Jones, Senior Technology Leader, Interac
Nicole Landry, Sr. Director, Workforce Identity and Access Management, CIBC
Puroo Maheshwari, CPP Investments
Moderator: June Leung, Principal Partner, jULE Consulting Inc.
Panelists:
Nitin Thukral, Field CTO, Fintech Mosaic
Nadine Fares, Senior Manager & IAM Product Manager, Royal Bank of Canada
Julien Boninfante, Strategy Advisor, Identity & Access Management, Questrade Financial Group
Behram Faroogh, President Elect, ISACA Toronto Chapter
Moderator: Francois Guay, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, CCN
Panelists:
Nasreen Latheef, Director of Authentication & Automation, CIBC
Ketan Kapadia, Chairman & Co-Founder, BlokSec Technologies Inc.
Aamir Bhaijiwala, Senior Director, Information Security, Chartwell Retirement Residences
Roozbeh Taheri-Nia, Founder & Managing Director, Incloud Security
8:00 am – 9:30 am
Breakfast and Registration
7:30am – 9:30 am
Workshop
9:30 am – 9:35 am
Land Acknowledgment & National Anthem and welcome by MC
9:35 am – 9:40 am
Opening Remarks
9:40 am – 10:10 am
Morning Keynote: Why the Phone Is Still the Most Trusted and Most Exploited Identity Channel in the Digital World.
Speaker: Tracey Nyholt, TechJutsu
10:10 am – 10:55 am
Panel 1: Evolution of Priviliged Access Management- A world without Secrets
Morning Break
10:55 am – 11:20am
11:20 am – 12:05 pm
Panel: Invisible Identities, Visible Risk: Building Trust in Automated Systems
12:05 pm- 12:35 pm
Keynote: Tomorrows Workforce: Identity Security and its adaption to the rise of Agentic AI
Speaker: Dana Reed, Sailpoint
12:35 pm – 1:35 pm
Lunch Break and Networking
1:35 pm – 1:45 pm
Report Launch: 2026 State of Cybersecurity Report by CCN
Speaker: Francois Guay, CCN
1:45 pm – 2:30 pm
Panel: Strategic Leadership in Identity & Access
2:30 pm – 3 pm
Keynote: AI for Identity
Speaker: Puroo Maheshwari, CPP Investments
3:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Afternoon Break
3:30 pm – 4:15 pm
Panel: From Access Control to Accountability: The New Era of Identity Governance in an AI‑Driven Enterprise”
4:15 pm – 5:00 pm
Panel: The Future of Identity
5:00 pm – 5:05 pm
Closing Remarks
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Happy Hour
This summit is tailored for cybersecurity and technology executives who are navigating strategy, scale, and security. If your title includes:
– Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)
The summit will be structured to maximize engagement and learning:
Novotel Toronto Centre
Address:
45 The Esplanade, Toronto, ON M5E 1W2, Canada
